Congressman Rogers talks defense, the need to attract talent during Alabama economic briefing

WASHINGTON — Alabama business and economic leaders convened Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to hear from Congressman Mike Rogers and showcase what Alabama can offer companies and workers interested in making the state home.

Much of the conversation centered around the aerospace and defense sectors and the importance of recruiting talent to come and stay in Alabama, buoyed by the impending arrival of the U.S. Space Command headquarters in Huntsville.

“This idea that we were going to have a hard time getting people to move from Colorado Springs to Huntsville is just asinine,” House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers told the group.

Rogers highlighted how the Space Command personnel will work in three temporary buildings at Redstone Arsenal that should be ready in about 18-24 months while work is completed on one large facility to house the headquarters.

Rogers said the development of the Golden Dome, a missile defense shield for the United States, will also have an outsized impact on the state. The chairman acknowledged, though, that the dome will come with a hefty price tag of around $500 billion. That’s a far cry from the price President Donald Trump touted in his announcement of the Golden Dome, saying it will cost $175 billion.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see half of that money that we spend on that going to companies in and associated with Huntsville, Alabama, because of their expertise on missile defense and space,” Rogers, R-Saks, said.

Bringing and keeping skilled workers to fill aerospace jobs in Alabama is critical, which is where the business community can come in, Rogers said.

“Trying to get more engineers available for our state, no matter what sector I interact with, when it comes to the defense industry, there’s not enough engineers,” the Alabama Republican said. “Everybody’s fighting over them, and we just need to be creating more.”

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Alabama Allies, led by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, hosted Tuesday’s discussion.

The Alabama business panel, which featured Ed Castile, deputy secretary of commerce, Miller Girvin, president of EDPA, and Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO of Innovate Alabama, echoed the need to attract and retain talent and companies in Alabama. Jason Isbell, with Regions Bank, moderated the discussion.

“We need all the engineers we can keep,” Girvin said. “We’ve got a few folks on our staff that are actively working with students and universities and, of course, the communities across the state to showcase what a great place Alabama is to live, work, play, (and) start your career.”

The panel highlighted how the public and private sectors can collaborate to achieve a shared goal of making Alabama an “elite state” economically.

Innovate Alabama’s approach, which focuses on startups and small businesses, centers on providing funding opportunities and then bolstering infrastructure in the state to support burgeoning companies.

“If you understand anything about tech companies….they work hard, they want to live hard, and they want to play hard,” Crutchfield said. “So we make sure that our outdoor assets across the state of Alabama are really accentuated, so that if you’re talking to tech talent…whether it’s a student, whether it’s a leader of a company, that those organizations understand that, like Colorado Springs, we have lots to do after work.”